Starvation

Note: I am using <<>> for skills and abilities while I will use //\\ for showing his status or status effects. And use () to add information, Clarify and add my cringy jokes from time to time.

Year 1 Month 1 Week (Day 4)

Up in the skies just far enough where he can barely see using the Bait skills effect where he can see white as targets he can target with the skill and everything else in different shades of blue and there he can see a small dot in the sky that he knew for some reason is Mayamin. He know without a doubt that the one flying there is someone he knows and it's a bird no it's not a plane and is definitely not superman.

Same day promotion. But why does her transformation start off black and from the looks of it wont suddenly change into white? Is there a deep meaning to the sudden change from purplish black to blondish white?

Whatever it is I shouldn't think about it much I mean today is not conspiracy day isn't it? Today is a day to celebrate us reaching the second tier in monster life. I mean sure maybe I can't make a cake now but I can at least can quickly gather some seeds for her to eat... wait come to think of it maybe I should ask her what she eats. Trying to feed roasted bird to bird would be a bad Idea right?

Took Alex a minute to process that and not the whole roasted bird thing but the cake and celebration part

Wait, why am I treating this as some wait not just some but actually like a birthday party? I mean I was legit considering making a cake with a number 2 on it. This reminds me I must teach Maya now that she had reached rank 2 about numbers I still do not know what is the norm in this world. I don't even know how they write numbers.

And speaking of humans the kingdom in which it's system is better off called an Empire rather than a kingdom. In the Capital of Altik the Human supremacism kingdom Barila in a a secret meeting room where the important nobles and other higher powered people are gathered even some who are so important that the public and commoners can't be allowed know of their very existence are all gathered with either frustrated faces or some with doom and gloom and a few feigning confidence and the rarest one being the one's actually confident.

And there is Michael Dame one of most nervous one because this the first time he is meeting the king and he can confidently say he is of the lowest rank and was only here because his position can be greatky affected by the outcome and he is one of the most in need of the hero because he is the duke of the Bearille duchy aka the closest part of the kingdom to the forest of everlasting sorrow (where the mc is right now thinking about the morality of feeding a bird of one of it's own kind)

Michael Dame has just recently inherited the duchy from his father 6 years ago. And after the war has caused the monster to have more leeway until their numbers grew out of hand and at that time the hero was out of commission supposedly training before eventually disappearing. And with the hero gone one the 3 biggest cities near it was completely destroyed turning the 3 into two.

"May I gather everyone's attention. The king shall be here shortly. And if may I ask for you to compose yourselves and for you to stop sucking on your thumbs for this matter requires a certain level of calm and professionality" A arrogant sounding man said. His body language and looks seem to shout the word I am important in big capital letters

"I am surprised that the my king has allowed some of you into this meeting in which the majesty himself is about to attend" He said looking at lower ranking people specially at Michael compared to the others that is because the others were the top of the top in the Kingdom's hierarchy.

Michael visually flinched at this but stayed quiet.

Even though as the duchy closes to the mana rich and resource rich land where you can hunt monster and find mana crystal, well. Reality can be a cruel mistress. Since everyone is wary of the Bearille duchy gaining power to surpass the other nobles. The other nobles of course obstructed there growth of power for the pas Century. But the fact that they can still grow despite all their trades with other country mostly benifitting other duchies show how profitable the Forest of Everlasting Sorrow.

The one speaking was one of the kings most loyal retainer Bruce Clifford. Though he has a sharp tongue his loyalty matches if not surpasses the title "Most loyal Retainer"

"Bruce may I graciously ask you to shut up." said a lean almost thin looking man but anyone who can meet him in person can sense the powerful aura he subconsciously releases.

Bruce reacted like it was perfectly normal ... of course without forgetting to show his annoyance and displeasure for the man's blatantly rude words that were terribly hiding if not almost not hiding his rude and disrespectful attitude towards Bruce.

Just as Bruce was about to lash out at Corbin the doors to the room where opened simply but oozed the feeling which you can only describe with the words Majesty and Royalty.

"Tsk. tsk. tsk. You two sit down I don't want to hear you fighting again this early"

As everyone stumbled to greet the king, Michael surprisingly manage to stay calm greet him with upmost respect and sit back down again before returning to his nervous state. This trait of not cracking under pressure is another thing that made it so that even as a third child he manage to win the title of heir.

"As his Highness and everyone has now arriv-" Before she could finish bruce interrupted with.

"Let us now begin th-" Normally Corbin the lean and almost skinny man would have beaten Bruce to the punch by announcing the start of the meeting before Bruce but now he didn't. He knew that the king seemed to be in a bad mood and with his guess being right the king suddenly released his horrifying but elegant and majestic aura.

"Let us now begin"

"Ou- our discussion on how to handle the possibility of a Beast hero and in the-"

"Worst case scenario ...

the Demon's Hero" with those last two words even the childish Bruce's Face turned grim.

The announcer sat down again after being interrupted for the fourth time already.

Yes, this is the what the discussion is about. Since the summoning failed it the most logical reason would be either the beast or in the worst case the demons will have a new king, of course they can't deny the possibility of other smaller kingdoms summoning heroes but their chances of so are close to null.

'Why didn't my officers report this to me!? Someone is going to regret this. Jus-just you wait!' Little did he know he ignored and refused to listen to the reports of his officers because he was in one of his moods back then.

Alex was still in one of his thinking loops while waiting for Maya to come out from her cocoon like thing and finish her evolution or Promotion? He was still unsure of which is better in describing the change.

But at least from the stories I heard from Barain and friends they use numbers because in one of their stories I overheard them mention numbers a few times like that one time when they tried to hunt some goblins they suddenly ran into 2 hobgoblins which are rank 3 then including the ones they were following 13 goblins which they only manage to have enough time to count since it chased them till they felt like they would collapse.

'Wait a minute what happened to the second portion of rewards for my promotion? his thought process suddenly shifted again.

While Alex was getting lost in his thoughts there was a change in the cocooned bird in mid air.

The slowly spinning vortex of darkness covering Maya started twitching and then seemingly loosening. It was at this moment that Alex noticed the changes. And then with a cute sounding pop Maya appeared from within. Then Alex Immediately try sensing the changes in Maya

She looks the same maybe a bit bigger? hmm

Yeah she is like maybe by half she was a fistful back then so small that she can barely carry a small squirrel. But now she seems just right in between my two hands (old hands, the once human ones).

As he squinted his metaphorically eyes he can see Mayamin closing up to him but somehow he felt something was wrong almost as if

"She is falling!" He panicked at that realization and accidentally shouted it out loud startling the animals nearby but he had no time to mind them as his brain tried to process what to do.

His brain is spinning so fast he felt as if someone had put a rocket in is mind allowing to think at incredible speed.

At the rate she is falling it would probably no it would be fatal

<<Clarity 1/3 achieving...>>

Everything felt clear his brain moved fast and he can as quickly understand and process what he is seeing.

I saw it sharp branches (not the skill) and Maya falling and ... straight towards.

As his brain moved so fast he had enough time to have stray thoughts.

But then how did I do this? he said while looking at his bird friend who was a lot bigger than he had remembered.

I have somehow managed to save her in the nick of time well not really nick of time there was at least 20 seconds before she falls but 20 is seconds from death is a little too close for anyone's comfort.

But there she is lying on softly and comfy. I had manage to catch her by using under developed branches but made it sturdy and flexible like ... well vines.

<<Vines acquired>>

'Ooh nice a new-'

Then he suddenly felt the rush end and his head? or wait no his entire being ache and hunger that would have made him feel as if he would really consider eating rocks raw ... yes he was so hungry that he has no issues eating rocks where his only hesitation would be if he should cook it, this was the insane level of hunger he felt ... and is feeling.

Then he saw on his status bar showing one word. Starvation.

//Starvation\\

After a deeper look on his Status he saw that trapper and bait reached level 9 as well as some other changes but he had not time for that as he suddenly realized he had no food and his feeding roots are turning red like veins slowly making their way up his stems and roots and the skill feeder is having it's evil aura skyrocket.

What is happening!? My roots are unrooting themselves?! Wait how is Maya doing in all this oh no she might get caught up in whatever this is. He said while looking at the sleeping Maya getting shaken by all the movements.

As he started to fear for Maya's safety he prepared to severe the Vines he had made earlier using Tree editing and reinforced it before swinging and then tossing it to the safest and farthest tree he could find.

Moments later he suddenly felt his condition worsen.

'Maybe wasting more nutrients was a bad idea'

And then it happened his status bar made another metaphorical ping.

//Berserk\\

Oh no as he was starting to feel it's devastating effects he saw a peculiar creature rise from the ground seemingly startled by all the shaking it looked annoyed at first then after a short look of realization in a second of awkward silence it dug like it's life is on the line and the creature that came out was indeed a ... mole.

With out hesitation moving one with his berserker branches which where slowly turning red, he attacked with a blunted branch and the mole was long gone before the blunted branch.

"Argh! Damnit I subconsciously started playing Obliterate-a-Mole" He said out laud with a horrifying growl.

Upon realizing he said Obliterate instead of of wack he knew he is going mad from the hunger.

As more and more of his tree body turned red and his roots were almost done uprooting themselves he knew that he would completely lose control then suddenly!

"STAB THE MOLE!" He said out loud in a voice that echoed in the forest and made Maya twitch but was not enough to wake her up.

As he used his Sharp Branch of the day he killed the mole and all his roots suddenly stopped. Pointed. At the direction of the mole and then like piranhas feed and completely digested the mole within minutes.

'Ha- ha ha haha' He was mentally gasping for air then let out for a silent laugh

That. That was a close one. If I were to go berserk no doubt I would have found rank 3 maybe even monstrous rank 4s and I would have been done in easily.

Rest In piece Mole - san wait why am I using honorifics? I'm not even Japanese.

And With that he took Maya made she was safe before finely getting as close to what you would call sleep as he ever had since becoming a Treant.